Good news: accessible travel is becoming more and more popular, as the hospitality and travel industries have come to understand just how large and lucrative a market people with disabilities can be. Among the best of the accessible travel books:
Great American Vacations for Travelers with Disabilities: With Complete Accessibility Information on Hotels, Restaurants, and Attractions. Fodor’s, 1994. 600p. ISBN 06792591X.
Clearly in need of updating, this now out-of-print guide is nevertheless worth a trip to the library for its overview of the most-loved American cities, parks, and resort regions. You’ll need to call specific venues of interest to update the information, but this is still a great starting point.
Harrington, Candy. 101 Accessible Vacations: Travel Ideas for Wheelers & Slow Walkers. Candy Harrington, 2007. ISBN 9781932603439.
Unlike most travel guides that extol the virtues of a particular geographic area, 101 Accessible Vacations is organized by interest and activity.
Harrington, Candy. Barrier-Free Travel: A Nuts and Bolts Guide for Wheelers and Slow Walkers. 2nd ed. Demos Medical Publishing, 2005. 256p. ISBN 1932603093.
Practical, informative guide to travel for individuals using wheelchairs or walkers.
Harrington, Candy. There Is Room at the Inn: Inns and B&Bs for Wheelchair Users and Slow Walkers. Demos Medical Publishing, 2006. 256p. ISBN 1932603611.
Reviews of 118 lodgings in 40 states, organized geographically. The entries include Victorian inns, romantic B&Bs, mountain retreats, and a couple of safari parks, among others.
Kennedy, Craig and Andrea Kennedy. Access Anything: I Can Do That! – Adventuring with Disabilities. Outskirts Press, 2007. 180p. ISBN 1432705695. In addition to highlighting 45 different sports adapted for people with disabilities, Access Anything also includes information and insider tips on plane, car, charter bus, cruise ship, and train travel. Both inspirational and informative.
In addition to perusing these excellent books, you may want to check out (and/or subscribe to):
Emerging Horizons: Accessible Travel News
Consumer-oriented quarterly magazine that showcases accessible B&B's, travel health issues, accessibility information; also contains resources and suggestions from other travelers.
